cthis is a fox news alert. federal aviation administration announced new steps to help prevent tired air traffic controllers from falling asleep on the job. they tell us what the new guide liance are. >> hi, they are a joint agreement between the faa and the national air traffic controller's association. they say that air traffic controllers can now use sick time or vacation time if they are too sleeppy to come to work and if they are working the overnight shift, they can lin to the radio and read in order to stay active and stay awake.

and air traffic controllers . and since april there are seven insphance of controllers sleeping on the job. and without any help from an air traffic controller that have dozed off. >> faa man dated that all controllers get a minimum of nine hours off shift to try to prevent sleeppy workers. ray lahood said the american public must have confidence that the nation's air traffic controllers are rest ready to work. we needed to make changes and we are doing that. and the faa and air traffic controllers agreed to continue the policy of not allowing naps in the break in the air traffic controller shift. they must be available for a recall at all times.

uma. molly. and and peter doocy is live with the story. and helping out ordinary folks . they are going to be tied when it comes . to get out of the big hole we are in, he will go after waste and tax breaks and nothing is off of the table. it would be nice if we can and it is millionaires and billionaires and are for hedge fund managers and corporate jet owners and oil and gas companies pulling in huge profits without our help. we'll have to make deeper cuts somewhere else.

republican senator dan coats . mitch daniels said the government should follow daniel's lead. he turned things aroundd by cutting taxes . paying down debts . get it focused on. >> the president and democrats in congress recognize that their game plan is not working. it is time to acknowledge that more government and higher taxes is not the answer to our problem. it is time for bold action and a new plan to address our current crisis. >> and since it is the 4th of july weekend. both touched on the american spirit. senator coats wanted to make sure that the country is in good enough shape . all sides need to harness their love for the country and

that we are going to move forward . lawmakers in minnesota are heading back for the first time . refused to raise taxes. and they are saying tax hikes are necessary because they needed revenue . the shut down is affecting everything from state parks and services for the blind. >> former international monetary fund chief dominique strauss-kahn is free from house arrest without bail after questions surfaced about the accuser's claimm against him. prosecutor revealed that the hotel maid may have lied about the events surrounding the assault. even though he is no longger under house arrest, none of the charges against strauss-kahn have been dropped. casey anthony trial is nearing the end. they will have a chance to

sway the jury in closing arguments set for tomorrow. they expect to deliver this evening and through the july 4th holiday. they rested without calling anthony to the stand and rebutted the testimony of casey anthony's mother, cindy. she said she did the searches for chloroform. >> and now the defense has rested the case without putting casey on the stand . what was behind the mood to keep her from testifying. and welcome to you both. thank you for being here. >> hi, uma. >> great to have you on board. was it a mistake to have casey not to testify in her own defense?

>> hind sight will always be 20-20 . jose baez is looked as a best attorney ever . if she is convicted, we will hear the arguments she will need to testify. in both ways, she would have gotten destroyed by all of the previous statements and inconsistencies . i believe jurors, want a mother to take the stand and say i may have gotten tattoos and partied like a rock star after my daughter was dead. but ladies and gentlemen of the jury i didn't kill my daughter. and we look back at what happened. and she is a socio path with psycheco pathology. and everybody knows she lies

and she can't get on the stand and cry tears and looking at the people and say my baby drowned and i am so sorry. >> and we have an issue going on with cindy anthony now. do you think that perjury charges could be brought on her at this point? >> i doubt they would bring perjury charges. but in a case of this stateur you don't know. it is so rare. but it was a blow for the defense. probably, the strongest part of the defense case was the cindy saying i searched for chloroform and cronk, the meter reader's son saying my father lide to me about what happened. cindy anthony's testimony hurt the defense and i don't see the prosecutors going after her for perjury. >> are they going to have to bring up again what the defense was arguing in the opening arguments. the drowning and there is not

a lot of evidence supporting those theories at this point. can the prosecutors use that and go after the juror to try to convince the woman is guilty? >> they are limit to only what the evidence is. they cannot bring in anything that is not brought out as evidence. they can use the innuendos as long as it is brought up in court without sustaining objections . he can bring in . unfortunately no evidence about the sex abuse. and that's the point. >> the fact they brought it up and we haven't heard much about it. where does it go? >> i think the jurors are reminded of the kind of promises baez made. you will hear about sex abuse and drowning. no one heard about sex abuse and drowning. close they came about drowning is a picture of caylee going into the pool with her grandmother and the statement

saying, that the ladder may have been in the pool that day. >> it was in the pool and the child knows how to go up and down the ladder and there is a lot to work with. >> sure, i hear you . what about george anthony's suicide note. there was a lot that we learn fascinating points about what was not contained in that point, arthur? >> that note would have been totally irrelevant until george anthony's credibility came in to question when he said he tried to kill himself. that note bolstered the fact that he tried to kill himself. the defense is trying to make him out to be the evil one and push away the horrible devil-like feelings toward the client to go to the father. i think in the final analysis, i don't think that the jury thinks that george anthony had anything to do about killing his grandd daughter.

>> what can we expect over the next couple of days? it is a second holiday weekend they are working through. it has to be tough. >> they are so into this trial and now, it is call going to come down to them. they are into it and get all of the information they waited for from the two different side and put it altogether. you have to remember, that the prosecution promised an awful lot, too. you will be comfortable finding that she did how many experts are on and people going back and forth and the question is, what happened? no one knows what happened. they promised that this was the murder weapon and the duct tape was on the mouth and she killed her child, and that's not been proven in all of the stories coming back and forth. >> i agree . that's why i think you might see a compromised verdict. not guilty of the highest charges because of what nicky said and find her guilty of a

lesser charge and means she will go to jail for a longg time. >> we'll be keeping close watch on all of the developments. thanks to both of you for your insight. >> thank you so much, uma. >> if you want to keep up with the casey anthony trial. check our new ipad app. go to fox news.comslashh ipadapp . don't forget to tune in tomorrow for the closing argument casey anthony trial. we'll stream thome life via the ipad as well >> turning to other news. secretary of state clinton is brushing aside qaddafi's threat. nato said they will force him out . on the last leg of the european tour. and again it is time for qaddafi to go.

there is pressure mountaining we need to see it through and we are in agreement that we will. >> ramping up air strikes on military targets in the western part of libya this morning. there is a string of advances that is largely under qaddafi's control. we are hearing from the african union is calling on member state to disregard arrest warrants against qaddafi. they are in misurata, libya with the latest. >> what can you tell us? good evening, uma, just a couple of hours after qaddafi finished speak talking about attacking europe. a large rocket bar age that landed six miles to the east

of the where i am standing. to the west of the tripoli, there was also a battle between qaddafi troops and rebel that is are continuing to try to push west out of misurata, a town that is still under siege. there is a deadly siulence on misurata's main drag as people walk through the rubble and survey the damage and see little left. >> we went and come back to see our houses. they are -- we found them destroyed. now in the shadow of collapsed buildings, cruc work to pull new telecables and repair the infrastructure. >> they can be repaired butinose who died can't be. you can see the artillery shells that are used as vases

for the flowers here. inside of an old grocery store. pictures of every person that died or is missing in the battle. many of whom are children. when we see the problem. we cannot find no way to describe it is from our families. came out from -- to seek the freedom. >> the real fear is having anyone push back against them in misurata. they have the defense to prevent that and plan from here to push west to tripoli. >> back to you. and thank you for the full report from the front lines. thank you for checking in with us . we'll have a live update from libya in the program later on. and first, how the 2012

race is shaping up the strategy of the front runner. stay with us. we're putting them to the test against the speed of a rescue unit. go ! they're downloading a music album. the first network to finish gets rescued. does your phone know that we're racing ? done ! verizon's done ! i've got seven left ! the fastest network in america. verizon. built so you can rule the air. now powering the lg revolution.

>> welcome back everybody. vice-president biden . delivering the closing remarks in the teamster's annual convention in las vegas. labor is under attack by the gop. don't any of you. by the way. it is republicans and this is not political. i am not supposed to say let me put it this way. don't come to me if you do. and biden is taking on the gop

know presidential candidate. and joining us now to weigh in the campaign managery mittry. and making president obama. and the president goes . particularly on the issue of class ware fare. what do you say? well, you know, i think you can tell who the special interest are from the democrats. in this point of time. biden's red rick he is interested in unions getting what they want and reigning in the out of control spending that is benefiting the unions more than the average taxpayer . the presidential candidate. at this point, the reason they

are focusing in on obama they are trying to form an identity for themselves temperature is too early to pit themselves against the republican candidate. there is no need to go after other people in the field until you know who will be around a few months from now. >> do you think we'll see more napes emerging in the next couple of weekings. governor perry for example . or guiliani stepping in just to weigh the options? >> well, they are making movements that lead you to believe they are wghing the potential of a cand acey. i met with governor perry with a group of conservative leaders in orange county. he certainly sounded like somebody that laid the foundation for a campaign . in the case of george tapacky . the big question. can they get the number of bundlers out there and fund the campaign and be

competitive. they come from big states that have a lot of money. texas and new york. you have to take that in consideration. the majority are committed to other candidates in the race right now. people have raised four million dollars and he is a new person in the campaign and someone that a lot of folks don't know a great deal about . the fact that he is raising money is interesting. >> the nice thing is given the timing of his announcement he's not obligated to file for the fcc reports . we will not know for certain what the campaign tells us . that is a pretty strong number if that is the case . you know, part of it right now. romney is the front runner and the other candidates are trying to position themselves to be a romney alternative and constitiency out there that likes what they represent and that is reflective of what

he's been able to do. >> interestingly. i was going to say it looks like him and tim pawlenty raised the same amount of money with huntsman in for a few weeks. >> and that raise said eye brows. let's talk about mitchell - michelle bachmann and target in liberal circles focusing on her intelligence . why do you think women candidates in the gop are under a closer scutiny and easier to take shots at them? >> because liberals are so offended that women would be republican conservatives. you have never seen that applied to the democrat female. not that we have had a ton running for president. but having said that.

being a member of congress and from minnesota and running for the president of the united states. that is michelle bachmann who will have to make adjustment to campaigning. it is a different microscope than what you endure as member of congress. >> always great to see you and happy to have your insights for the viewers and happy fourth to you. >> thank you. and coming up. a live update on a massive new mexico wildfires that is taking place . fox news catherine is coming up where the next real threat to u.s. national security is coming from. stay with us.

welcome back. faa announced new rule to keep tired controllers on the job. hi, peter. >> new rules allows controllers to use sick days or annual leave time if they are too tired to work . they will be allowed to lin to the radio and red on overnight shifts only with the traffic is light. >> white house is urging texas to call off the execution for alberto because his rights were violated because he was not told he could call the mexican consulate.

he was convicted of murdering and raping a girl in 1998. jurors are expected to deliberate in the evening and july 4th holiday. prosecutor called witnesses to rebut testimony from casey anthony's mom cindy that she was on the internet searching for chloroform. >> and maria shriver filed for divorce six weeks after arnold schwarzenegger admitted to fathering a house keeper's child. citing irreconcilable differences. >> and all right. peter, thank you. these misguided individuals are spurred on by the likes of al-qaida's adam gadan and alwaki in yemen . we have seen the tragic results with the murder of a

military recruiter in arkansas two years ago and attack on servicemen and women in fort hood. >> the new book, the next wave on the hunt of al-qaida american recruits and what is done now to monitor the threats and joining us now, correspondant and author andical league who is here to tell us about the breaking news . congratulations on your new book. >> thank you very much. >> what we have heard that information in bin laden's compound and the e-mail thumb drives show that the al-qaida network was angry and frustrated by the cia campaign in the tribal areas of pakistan and achieving the objective to take senior operatives off of the battlefield and keep the group under pressure so it is difficult for operatives to plan, train and raise money. uma, it is no coincidence that we are starting an identical campaign in yemen.

yemen is one of the rising threatt hubs and americans are front and center in al-awaki who i describe is leader of al-qaida 2.0. he was overlooked in a key player in the al-qaida network. why was he not taken seriously? >> one of the things i lay out in the book behind the scene was our . what i showed in interviews and phone records. al-awlaki's contact with the hijackers were evidence of a personful relationship. when he return to the pentagon in 2002 as part of the outreach to moderate muslims, it was like a thief returnns to the scene of the crime, he was contacted with three of the five hijackers on flight

577 that went in the building. and one of the things that is interesting, you want people to understand that this is not simply a quest to hit a particular target over the next two years is a mind set and operation and way they believe and what they live for. >> a lot of people felt at bin laden's death that was the end of the story, but if you want to know where the battle against radical islam is going you want to get the book. in the book, i take you to the cia and national counter terrorism center and for these people it is a forever issue. it is not a four-year election cycle issue . one of the things that we are seeing now and never seen before, americans have joined the ranks of al-qaida. it is like a digital ji hadist and they use facebook and they use the social networking to

spread ideology of hate and it is effective with a small group of mirns. - americans. >> how is the recruiting going in countries where there are economic challenges in africa and other places like that? >> one of the things i lay out. there are misconceptions of who buys in this. we felt that al-qaida tapped in groups that don't have money. but i never seen an al-qaida operative from haiti. after 9/11, some americans bought into this in a way we never thought possible before. >> it is a fascinating book and took extensive research and we find it fascinate interesting. all the best to you and good luck with it. >> and an american accused of breaching five layiers of security and using an expired boarding pass to fly from new york to los angeles will remain behind bars. he was not arrested until he

tried to do the same thing on the atlanta bound flight to los angeles. he had several expired tickets in his bag. he was arrested for riding a train without a ticket in 2008. if convicted on the charge, he could face five years behind bars. >> firefighters in new mexico are holding ground against the largest wildfires in history. that could mean bad news for those wanting to return home. hi, dan. >> hey, uma, the fire has grown to 113,000 acres. only five percent containment. but we have good news, every since the fire broke out one week ago, much of the focus was put on the los almos national lab that is critical to the developing of the atom bom and important nationally. the phase went from one of

emergency to recovery and that means a couple of things. that means 200 firefighters that are working around the peremiter. in the massive facility is sent off to the northern part of the fire where it is burning actively . means that lab staff will spend two days to check the systems for damage. 10,000 experiments had to be put on hold when they were force to evacuate and continues in the lab and city of las almos. the fire will move through the large indian or pub low reservation . 6,000 acres of the santa clara watershed was scorched and killing animals and plants and impacting sacred cultural sites and water resources. it will be days and weeks before they know the full extent of the damage. [inaudible] it can be replaced.

fish can be replaced. the watersheds are hurt. their sacred sites are hurt by the fire. there is going to be a big massive effort to try to help them restore their land. cstill no exact word on what the residents of los almos will be allowed back in . the lab reopened, possibly tomorrow or monday at the earliest. >> let's hope that the firefighters continue to hold their ground. thank you so much for bringing us up to date on the fire. thens of people are skipping the fireworks and barbecue to help in joplin, missouri. as of yesterday, volunteers loggged 250,000 hours of work, moving the debris . nearly 40,000 people registered to volunteer in

joplin. after the break. we'll talk to the founder of an organization who is lending a helping hand this 4th of july weekend to men and women in uniform over in afghanistan. stay with us. up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me. bee happy. bee healthy. really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein...

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on this 4th of july weekend we wanted to tell you about a special effort. troops need you is lending a hand and sending important federals to afghanistan this 4th of july .

they are sending helmets and jackets to soldiers serving in afghanistan. to tell us more is eric . thank you so much for joining yus tell me why you decided this is something you wanted to be a part of and why it is so important for our troops. >> i spent time on the ground and i am a lieutenant colonel and i was a ground intelligence operator . there is a lot of need and a dynamic environment . there say lot of need and combat units that the system is not as responsive . we go straight to the american people and troops that have mission requirements and we go beyond the care package . this is what they need and we get it to them fast. in general we are hidden body armor and they have it from iraq. troops drove around.

you have troops med vacted for >> and that is what we deliver. every unionit is important and having a huge. and so it looks like weight. how much you want to look like

the michelinn man. guys are on their feet . they are specialized helmets and light wet . thesis will not stop the same type of rounds that the other ones will. the others weigh more and guys take them off after a few hours. these you will keep on all of the time. we are in a bigger risk on filing. that is useful. >> how can that. they can go to trops need you.com. troops need you.com.

and they support it and they donate and gives the resource to buy this thing . it is a personal medicine for me . this is directly supporting the mission of the troops in harms way. and we are helping men and women over seas and we salute them. thank you for joining us. happy fourth. >> summer vacation got dull for kids in urban areas and swimming pools are the casulties of local budget woes. david miller has more. >> for thousands of young people it is a long hot and very boring summer. cutbacks in services and programs in the entire country.

it is 75. washington d.c.. 17 million was cut. 17,000 kids will be. they are worse now than any other kind. and it is a big are cost in the future. later on. it will be higher and a lot of people will be out on the street. and there is need for other public service agencies to keep them in order. and give the group 120,000 for the funding .

the organization said that 93 percent of the participants go to college and that program can make a big difference. >> once you start, there was performance. see them relax a bit. and there is some good news. that will be open. new york city corporations. thank you very much.

and government investment. i believe that this nation should commit itself in achieving the goal before the decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. >> that goal reached eight years later. there is growing power of exuters. miniaturization calls moore's law is doubling every two years and some say it may bring the next boon. >> it is the telecommunications and what that will do. since then we had search engineers and software and stuff. technology is allowing us to

do amazing thing. they have broad band college and as it did with electrical power and interstate highway system decades later. rapid change means many jobs will never come back. they call for a public private partnership to train the workers. >> how we can take the unemployed person that is out of the work for 12 or 17 month to take a job that doesn't exist? >> every apollo program there is another massive program that did not give results. >> we are spending money on roads . gigantic amount of money on education. the government and every single budget, the government whether he is a republican or democrat tells us how they are investing in our future and it doesn't seem to be paying off at all. >> economist are divided over the long spending promise if

they work . it lacks the money to carry out the new idea . they can play a key role in helping the economy. in washington fox news. and michelle bachmann getting the same media treatment. we'll look at that issue after the break. stay with us. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has ginkgo for memory and concentration, plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's.

>> top stories that we are following right now in america's news heads. controllers can take the day off according to the new administration rules. new guidelines are allowing controlller to use sick days if they are too tired to work. they are allowed to read or

lin to the radio in overnight shifts when it is not busy. president obama said everything needs to be the table in the budget debate including tax hikes . in the weekly media address. and they are saying it is spending and put policy in place . juror in the casey anthony trial have the day off lead. closing arguments are set for tomorrow. judge expects the deliberations to expect right afterwards. they rested the case without calling anthony to the stand.

unnamed defense officials. congresswoman michelle back mash - on bachmann is compared to sarah palin. they share one thing in common the amount of media attention. >> yes, everybody in the media is comparing sarah palin to michelle bachmann it is pretty ordained because they took the same american history course. we have palin on line, of course. saying that they are running and tipping off the british

with the guns and bills in the start of the revolution and bachmann saying last week that the battle while she's in new hampshire that the battle of lexington and concord is where it all started. she was in new hampshire and not massachusetts. they are leading the field and we'll give you an example of the blistering criticism that is result of these blopers. they write bachmann's story to hear her tell it is about a suburban home maker that is chosen by god that restores faith and family values to public life and do battle with secular humanism. by the time you've finished

reviewing her record of lies and embellishments and contradictions you will have no idea if she actually believes in her own divine inspiration or whether it is a big con job. there is a appearance in the new hampshire debate and according to the press she did well and maybe that was by comparison with the lack luster companions on the republican side. as in the washington post writes. bachmann is the candidate that sarah palin was supposed to be. they can't get away from the criticisms. new yorker magazine, listed the similarities and dissimilarities. similarities, she is a woman. she is attractive. this is the two women and a reagan democrat. bachmann said she was a democrat and supported president carter and saw the

light as ronald reagan did . also got people talking about her background and she said a scholarly background and that provided laugh lines and feminist are also in there and saying that anybody criticizing the women is criticizing because they are women and i beg to differ with that. we have to respect the feminist arcticles and feminist outlooks. it is a fair appraisal of people who can't get american history straight. >> wow, it is really something, list. particularly on the female candidates of the race. this is the beginning of the campaign season and see how it continues. >> thank you, liz. >> thank you, uma. it is matthew from the rolling stone. quick correction there. >> and only lasts 12 minutes but the american tradition is

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>> welcome back challengers are weighing in. on coney island. may than's hot dog contest. whether you think it's sports or spectacle, there are contestants hungry for a win.

the women will be separated into their events and the winners of the men's and women's championships will get $10,000 apiece. a coveted mustard belt and most importantly the bragging rights eating the most hotdogsment u.s. troops in afghanistan were treated to some cajun cuisine thanks to generous chefs and the project was dubbed operation honoring our troop or operation hot tore short. two tons of food plus two tons of gifts were delivered to 4,000 troops on the front line and the operation took a full year of planning and more than $150,000 in donations. and this 4th of july weekend, thousands of people are skipping the barbecues and the fireworks across the country. to volunteer in joplin, missouri instead. the town to rebuild after the deadly tornado in may. volunteers have logged 250,000 hours of work, removing debris and donations and 40,000 people have registered to volunteer in joplin.

that will do it for me in washington d.c., but america's news headquarters rolls on. kelly wright and jamie colby are standing by in new york to take over from here and we invite you to tune in tomorrow, shannon bream hosts sunday's fox news sunday and sit down with senator john corzine. and thank you for watching the fox news channel. we report, you decide. make it great 4th of july holiday, have a wonderful weekend everybody, thanks for joining us.